MY TAKE ON LIV
I recently had the pleasure of spending about 30 minutes with The Golfer’s Journal’s Casey Bannon for a wide-ranging podcast that touched on everything from my earliest days in the game to where and how golf grows best, dogs making any day of golf better, mentors, and, of course, the hottest topic in golf right now—LIV.
After what seems like 6 months of non-stop talk about LIV, here’s my take in writing.
We’re here at this awkward place in golf because of greed. Because of nearly 30 years of vengeance. And because not many seem willing to ask the self-reflective questions “How much is enough?” and “How much is dignity, integrity, tradition and a rightful place in history worth?”
We’ve been here before. Sort of. Go back to November 1994. I encourage you to read Tom Boswell’s Washington Post piece, “Norman Golfing for Greed in Plans for World Golf Tour.” You’ll see that this isn’t the first time Greg Norman proposed a rival tour that would strip the top players in the world from their home tours, pay enormous guarantees and feature no-cut events, all the while turning his back on the PGA Tour, its people and its sponsors... the very foundation that made him an international superstar.
Sound familiar?
Nearly 30 years time has passed and the story hasn’t changed. This time, Norman just found someone—the Saudi Public Investment Fund—to bankroll his vengeance under the guise of “growing the game,” while promising his LIV players money just for showing up and the luxury of playing less and spending more time at home.
It’s an empty promise, though. Players like Patrick Reed have already started chasing more events worldwide in an attempt to stay relevant within the Official World Golf Rankings. In other words, more golf and less time at home. And it’s a promise that comes with a lot of strings attached. The Wall Street Journal has already exposed the controlling terms of LIV’s players contracts—proving just how involved LIV’s lawyers already are and plan to be in their player’s lives.
The result so far? A deep divide between those loyal to what we know golf to be since its beginnings: a game of honor, of merit, of respect for those who came before us and those who have taken the easy way out with up-front money to play exhibition golf that has no soul. None of that makes golf a better place. Instead, it reduces it to other sports that spend time in courtrooms trying to gain advantage through means other than winning on the field of play.
Just as LIV and its players have dug into their position, so too have the PGA Tour’s most influential players—who met this week in an invitation-only meeting sealed by what amounts to a vow of secrecy to take on the LIV threat and ultimately better the PGA Tour. The players are taking control of their own organization and its future. The presence of Tiger Woods tells you how serious this moment is and how important these next steps will be. In my opinion, what they’re doing rivals the reorganization of professional golf when the PGA Tour split from the PGA of America in 1968, led in great part by the actions of Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. It was painful then. But, it is successful to this day because it was done in the best interest of ALL of the players, not just a select few. It was also done with the ideals of competition at the forefront, not exhibition and self-importance.
Only time will tell if the Tour built on the merit of true competition and the spirit of the game backed by a strong fanbase, loyal sponsors, major television contracts, and the biggest name in golf—Tiger Woods—will prevail over the new Saudi-backed League with none of those things. My bet is on the PGA Tour and its players—just like in 1994.
A similar threat looms for the LPGA, a 72-year-old organization founded by 13 brave, bold women who found their own sponsors, wrote their own press releases, marked their own golf courses and cut their own tiny but meaningful checks. They breathed life and success into ALL women’s professional sports with their unshakable belief in hard work and the integrity of sporting competition. It would be an enormous mistake to contemplate, let alone agree to, meeting with a group that places so little human value on women. Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, has backed a handful of Ladies European Tour events as that tour has struggled, but the line must be drawn by the LPGA. It must continue the steady work of their founders with its solid sponsor network that showcases the players with respect.
One last thought: In a world where so many are asking “How much can golf pay me?” how about asking “How can I repay golf for what it has given me?” I know I can never make that gift whole, and I also know I am not alone.
